


Cardinals Appear

by d-ama-ien (ama_janee)



Category: Markiplier Egos, Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: and the slightest bit angsty, death mention, not really shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 14:02:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16874214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ama_janee/pseuds/d-ama-ien
Summary: A peaceful morning of bird watching with one of the new egos, Eric Derekson from the Stand Up to Cancer charity live stream.They say Cardinals appear when angels are near.





	Cardinals Appear

**Author's Note:**

> If tumblr doesn't die and I'm not banned you can find me @d-ama-ien for more ego content.

The air is thin and harsh on my lungs, quiet puffs of hot air forming small clouds as I deeply exhale. The morning is still, and peaceful, golden light sparkling off of the frost covered grass of the front lawn. The world is calm and quiet, except for the group of Cardinals flitting about our yard. I smile as I watch the birds fly around each other, the vibrant red contrasting with the calm winter colors surrounding them. A few of them are tweeting, a repetitive call of a little song. From the little I know about birds they’re all male except for one splash of brown in the sea of red. At least I’m pretty sure the more vibrantly colored ones are male if I remember basic biology correctly. I don’t recall ever seeing so many Cardinals together, it looks like fourteen or fifteen males and the one female. I sigh into my mug as I continue to watch the birds play, taking the rare moment to enjoy the quiet.

“Um- I’m, uh, sorry for bothering you-” I turn in surprise to face the door, though I know who the voice belongs to. Eric Derekson, young in both actual age and also young in creation. He and two others were created for the charity stream, so the three are technically the same age. Which is weird because Eric is the son of one of the other new egos. Anyways, I know the anxious stutter only belongs to Eric, as Mark has never created such a nervous ego before. I’m honestly surprised Eric was able to address me at all. 

“Hey, Eric. What’s up?” He hesitantly steps out onto the porch and lets the door swing shut behind him.

“I was. I was just, uh, wondering what you were doing out here? It’s pretty cold,” I smile as he steps up to join me at the edge of the porch, looking down at his feet instead of at me or the yard. 

“I came to look at the birds. Cardinals are one of my favorite kinds,” I explain and his gaze immediately shoots out to the yard. His face lights up when he sees the group of birds playing, continuing their frolicking in the morning sunlight. “You like animals, right?”

He glances over to me but quickly turns away again. “I, yeah, I really do, I like animals a lot. But I don’t have much luck with them,” 

His voice trails off, and he winces a bit. I also cringe, thinking of the story he told in one of the sponsor videos. “I don’t think that’s your fault, Eric. It seems like it’s stuff out of your control,”

I try to be reassuring, but I don’t think he buys it. He gives a half-hearted shrug, and we continue to watch the birds in silence. They’re closer to the house now, flying within a few feet of us. We stand beside each other in the peaceful quiet for a few minutes, until Eric breaks the silence. “Why are Cardinals one of your favorite birds?”

I’m surprised by the question, and by the fact that it was a smooth delivery without even a small stutter, but I manage to just focus on answering the question. “I lost someone close to me when I was younger, and at their service, there was a Cardinal. I was told that when Cardinals appear it meant that angels were near, so someone I loved was watching over me.” 

Eric suddenly grabs my hand, staring into my eyes with a direct intensity that I didn’t think he could muster. “Is that true?”

“I like to think it is, though I can’t say for certain,” I barely finish the sentence when Eric’s arms are suddenly around me in a crushing hug. I awkwardly wrap my arms around him, trying to maneuver so nothing spills from my mug but also trying to show that I’m responding positively to the physical contact. If he receives a negative reaction he probably won’t touch anyone for a few weeks, so you have to encourage it when he reaches out. At least that’s what Dr. Plier says, and since he’s a psychiatrist I think I am supposed to listen to what he says about Eric’s mental state. I feel his body shaking and the distinct sniffles and realize he’s started crying. “Oh, no, no, shush, it’s all okay,”

I mummer reassurances as I contort my arms to place the mug on the porch railing so I can hug him back properly. Of course, I should have thought that anything relating to deceased loved ones would make him think about his brothers and mom. I rub his back until the sniffles calm down a bit and he buries his face into my shoulder. “Do you think they’re really watching over dad and me? Do you think they could be proud?”

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t they be proud? You tried to overcome your fears to help your dad and help a charity, they would be so proud of you for that.” He squeezes me tighter for a moment before letting me go and turning back to the birds with a sad smile on his face. And then, one of the red birds flies over and perches right in front of Eric. He laughs, even as tears stream down his face he smiles brightly at the bird. 

The bird pecks his finger before flying away to join the group. They all take off, circling a few times before flying out of sight. Eric sniffs loudly as he wipes at his face, but he seems calm.  
“Thank you. I missed them a lot.”

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all remember Dr. Plier from that video Mark did with Sugar Pine 7? That was a thing. This was short but I saw a cardinal and had thoughts about my new boy Eric.


End file.
